Murderbot Review: In this sci-fi comedy series, Murderbot, a security android, self-hacks to get out of the hands of its owners. Horrified by human emotions but surprisingly drawn to them regardless, he must do what’s necessary so as not to make anyone suspicious, although he just wants to watch his soap operas and be left alone. Will he finally realise his dreams?
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Murderbot Show Creators & Writers
Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
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Murderbot AppleTV Cast
Alexander Skarsgård, David Dastmalchian, Noma Dumezweni, Sabrina Wu, Tattiawna Jones, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski
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Murderbot Directors
Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Toa Fraser, Aurora Guerrero, Roseanne Liang
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Murderbot Release Date
May 16, 2025
The series is based on the book series The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and has 10 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.
Murderbot Review
It’s an odd day when we can relate to the seemingly unfeeling robot in any media. We are so used to robots being killing machines and without morality that the thought of humour coming out of a security machine meant to kill feels foreign. However, in Muderbot, we are introduced to a self-hacking security robot whose goal in life is to be left alone and watch soap operas about space exploration… and if that’s not the life we all envision for ourselves, I don’t know what is!
Alexander Skarsgård is just so awkwardly funny as Muderbot that it’s hard not to feel pity for this poor machine. You expect him to want to do stuff, any stuff, after getting independence from being a slave, but he has simple dreams that are easily attainable, had the world not been such a capitalistic mess. The series throws light on social issues pertaining to being owned by the company you work for and not having any freedom, thanks to your job roles, and takes it a step further. Although the robot thing is a bit overboard, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities at this point.
The series starts off a bit slow, and takes a little time to truly reach our heart, but once SecUnit starts to feel his feelings and grow human emotions, connecting with his team and thinking about their well-being is when things truly start to look up. By the end of it, I couldn’t believe that we had reached the end of this sensitive robot’s story, and I wanted more. The adventure needs a bit more spicing up, but the sci-fi show within a sci-fi show segment is as amusing as it is emotional since it turns into the pillar for SecUnit’s emotional intelligence.
Skarsgård makes us care for this character, who leaves an impact on viewers. I wouldn’t say the others have as much depth or interest as he does. Although David Dastmalchian’s Gurathin is a close second. His character’s arc is so warm and fuzzy that it’s hard not to shed a tear by the end. Other than them, we have Noma Dumezweni as Mensah, who is the resident do-gooder. She’s warm, but nothing truly memorable in that sense, although she is somewhat the heart of the show.
I enjoyed Murderbot quite a lot, especially the second half. Some moments are quite dull and slow, but the interactions between the crew is funny and the dry humour is infectious. I think the adventure part needed to be a bit more, well, adventurous to give it the thrill that it deserved, but other than that, this one’s entertaining in the right ways.
Final Thoughts
Murderbot is enjoyable if you like emotional dramas with a dry humour and sci-fi. I think the adventure part is a bit lacking, but I was entertained regardless.
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